Council approved $146,000 to install new high-definition cameras and new microphones in Council Chambers to start high quality streaming.
Council also approved an annual $90,000 budget for camera operators.
The City will start streaming in high-quality starting with the August 9, 2017 Council LRT meeting. No details were provided as to how the site will be accessed.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger says he wants to see more than just meetings in the Council Chambers streamed by the City, saying he wants to see meetings in committee rooms live for the public.
Staff told the Mayor the large committee room – Room 264 – will soon be able to support streaming for some meetings.
Mayor Eisenberger noted that many meetings are held in committee rooms while the Council Chamber is not in use, and encouraged staff to schedule meetings in Chambers to enable more streaming.
Council has not provided any details on licensing of the Council videos, or if they’ll be released as part of the City’s open data initiative.
Councillors Lloyd Ferguson and Jason Farr managed the plan, and have met with all local media outlets, with the exception of The Public Record, regarding how media will be able to use the video stream.
Farr says Cable 14 will have full access to the cameras.
The $90,000 annual camera operation budget will be awarded to a third-party operator. It is most likely the funds will be assigned to Cable 14.
The Public Record will continue to record all meetings, post under a Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license, and ensure a full copy of all proceedings is permanently available.